You have built or bought a beautiful nest box and hung it in the garden, but unfortunately no bird takes the offered home. Our feathered friends are quite meticulous when it comes to choosing their homes. This must not only meet certain criteria, but also be attached to a suitable place. We have summarized in this article what you need to pay attention to.
Nest boxes must be placed high enough
Choose the right place
When choosing the location, you should consider the following points:
- Nest boxes should be placed at a height of two to three meters.
- The entrance hole must not face the weather side, which corresponds to a western orientation in our latitudes, nor the blazing midday sun in the south. If the animals have to fly in from the north, too much cold penetrates into the dwelling. It is optimal if the entrance hole points to the east or south-east.
- To prevent rain from penetrating, the box should be slightly tilted forward.
- If you want to attach several identical nesting aids, a minimum distance of ten meters must be maintained. An exception are nest boxes for colony breeders such as swallows.
- Install the dwellings in autumn, because the animals also like to use them for sleeping and overwintering.
Birds don't like noise
Our feathered friends are no different than us: they don't like noise from cars or a busy playground. Therefore, when installing the nest box, choose a quiet corner of the garden where all of the above points are met.
How is the nesting box hung in a tree-friendly way?
To ensure that trees are not damaged, you should attach the nesting aid professionally. For this you need:
- 2 eyelets
- binding wire
- garden hose
- If there are no eyelets attached to the nesting box (€49.85), screw one into each of the upper, rear corners.
- Cut a piece of binding wire. This must be long enough to go from one eyelet around the tree to the second eyelet. Allow a few centimeters so that you can twist the wire for attachment to the grommets.
- Cut off a piece of the garden hose. The tree protection should be dimensioned so that it encloses the entire tree trunk.
- Place the end of the wire around an eyelet and twist.
- Pull the wire through the hose.
- Attach to the tree so that the garden hose is resting on a branch on the opposite side. This ensures stabilization of the bird home.
- Pass the second end of the wire through the second eyelet, pull the wire taut and twist.
- To protect the animals, you should also install metal protection against martens, cats and woodpeckers.
tips
In order to attract birds to your garden, you should provide a rich supply of food. Feel free to leave branches and leaves lying around, because insects hide under them. Feathers and animal hair are often used for building nests, if you find such legacies, simply leave them where they are.